HAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Friday as the two Cold War allies strengthened their ties, Russia's state RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The meeting came at the end of Medvedev's Latin America tour which has been seen as an attempt by Russia to flex its muscles in Washington's traditional backyard by seeking energy, military and trade cooperation across the region.
No photographs or television images were immediately available of the meeting.
Castro, 82, who ruled Cuba for 49 years before his brother, Raul, become president in February, has not been seen in public since undergoing surgery in July 2006. But he writes regular newspaper columns and meets with foreign leaders.
He held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this month in Havana.
Medvedev traveled to Cuba from Venezuela, where he and anti-U.S. leader President Hugo Chavez oversaw joint naval exercises. The trip came as tensions between Moscow and Washington simmer over U.S. missile defense plans in Eastern Europe and Russia's brief war with Georgia.
(Reporting by Patrick Markey in Havana, editing by Alan Elsner)